How long would it take a cleaner to do this?

[catsofa]

I don't think I can afford a cleaner, but out of curiosity I thought I'd work out how much it might cost, just in case I got a nice surprise.

So, how long do you think it would take to do the following, and how much might it cost to get someone to do it for me?

Bath, tiles, toilet, sink, floor. Bathroom is tiny, only just enough room to have all these things in it, so floor isn't a big job. Could add wiping the 2ft long windowsill if I could stop keeping so much stuff there. Empty tiny bin.

Front room and kitchen floors - maybe 4 x 4 metres each room. Laminate and lino. Empty small front room bin. Empty kitchen bin (v close to outside bin doesn't need to be carried far) and clean the lid (swing bin). Wipe empty windowsills (they get mouldy if not wiped in winter but they're fine now, no scrubbing required just a regular wipe).

Hoover stairs and whatever can be reached of the largest bedroom - one flight of stairs plus similar sized hall/landing bit. Big bedroom has loads of stuff stored in there so only really needs a small bit hoovered that actually gets walked on, i.e. from door to bed to window. Empty small bin in bedroom. Wipe empty bedroom windowsill.

Take off old bedding and replace with clean - I fucking hate putting new bed clothes on and would pay a full time wage to someone to do just this one job if I could afford it!

Clean oven hobs and kitchen sink.

God, if all this were done for me only every other week I'd feel so much more on top of everything...

I'd say 2 hours, but I don't know of any cleaner who would do the oven. Wipe down the job, yes, but not clean the oven itself. That's always been specifically excluded here.

But our cleaners have always managed what you describe in 2 hours, possibly a bit more too - sorting laundry for eg.

Yes I would agree 2hrs, maybe 1.5hrs. I'm a cleaner and find that the first few times would take longer whilst I work out a routine and where all plug sockets etc are. Usually can get round quicker once I know your home well and mentally work out what comes next whilst I'm on a specific task.

It also makes a huge difference in how clean your home is to begin with and how much general clutter etc there is. If it is quite orderly then it will take less time.

I'm a cleaner and would say 2 hours, I do a house for 2 hours every other week and she just has the bathroom and kitchen done, full clean, wipe down cupboard, floors, tiles, windows etc.

To be honest cleaning out oven isn't something that a cleaner usually does as routine as that is normally a extra.

If your in my area OP I would be happy to give you a price

Yes I'd say about 2 hours. Our cleaner does all the jobs you mentioned except cleaning the oven and changing the beds (she would if we asked her to, but we don't mind doing them ourselves.)

She's normally here 2.5 hours, sometimes 3 if I want the guest room cleaned ready for visitors. And if she's finished the routine jobs and still has time left she makes a dent in the ironing pile for me. She's a jewel, really!

And yes, once a fortnight is enough to make a huge difference. At least then if you can't find the time to hoover the stairs or scrub the bath, you know it won't be too long before it gets done!

Ours charges £11 per hour. Some are cheaper, some are dearer. Shop around. If you can spare the cash without leaving yourself short, it's well worth it.

I pay £10 an hour. As someone else said, my cleaner does my house quicker now than when she first did it, but it does depend on how clutter free your house is.
If you can afford £20 a week (or even fortnight?) why not see if you can find someone to give you a quote.

Some people prefer to agree an amount to do the jobs, some prefer the cleaner to be there for a set time. Might depend on if you are going to be there.

Two hours. I'd go with 1.5 hours every week
Depends where you live. I pay £11.50ph Surrey.

Thanks everyone!

I didn't actually mean cleaning inside the oven, JUST the hobs... the oven itself has a door so I don't care notice if it's dirty in there . Wiping the outside is more than I ever get around to doing enough!

The house is NOT clutter free, but the clutter is for example all over the kitchen table, which I don't expect to have cleaned - I can't leave much out below waist height because my 18mo would eat it/rip it/feed it to the cat. I'm not worried about dust in the corners anyway, I just want the middle of the floor where we actually walk to be clean enough not to make socks instantly black... Does that sound ok for a cleaner?

I know I'd have to scoop up all the toddler's toys in each room and shove them in a box before the cleaner came, I already have just such a box in each room so I can pretend to be civilised in the evenings. I also use kitchen roll and wipes to wipe up the worst of the food he spills, but the floors really need a proper mop with some sort of bleachy stuff or something from time to time which is difficult when I get so little time without him.

At least then if you can't find the time to hoover the stairs or scrub the bath, you know it won't be too long before it gets done!

Exactly this! I keep noticing the slight ring around the bath when my toddler is in it, and the dirty cooker hob when it's hot because I'm using it. Then by the time he goes to bed I have an hour or so of cleaning and sorting and then I need to sit down in peace for a bit before I have to go to bed, and I can't do the bedding or any hoovering when he's asleep as it will wake him. I never get more than the bare minimum done and it's starting to get a bit minging.

I think you definitely need a cleaner every week.

Getting a cleaner was a prerequisite of my going back to work after DD. I had to go full-time for a while and refused to spend all my remaining time doing housework. It made such a huge difference to our quality family time that we kept her on, even when I went part-time.

Best use of disposable income ever. If we had to make cutbacks now I'd get rid of the TV before I lost my cleaner.

We would charge our minimium of £30 (plus VAT) for this amount of work but we are not the cheapest (nor the dearest) service level around, It just depends what you want service-wise.

There's lots of things that are not in your list . Do you really only want the kitchen floor mopped and the bin emptied ? Why does only the lid need cleaned and not the whole bin?

Don't you want the tap and cupboards cleaned too? Don't you have a microwave ? What about the front of fridge and washing machine etc

No decent cleaner will be happy to only clean the middle of the floor and leave the corners dirty !

It sounds like you have a lot of stuff which is making it hard for you to keep your house clean . Do you think you need more storage or perhaps to have a clear out ? It seems a shame to use a whole room just for storage .